No Retreat, No Surrender 2 [Region 2]

No Retreat, No Surrender 2 [Region 2]
by Corey Yuen

No Retreat, No Surrender 2 [Region 2]

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Cynthia Rothrock, Loren Avedon, Matthias Hues, Max Thayer, Patra Wanthivanond
Director: Corey Yuen
Producer: Roy Horan
Writer: Roy Horan
Cinematographer: Chin Chiang Ma
Producer: Carl Colpaert
Producer: See-Yuen Ng
Writer: Keith W. Strandberg
Writer: Maria Elena Cellino
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: PAL
Running Time: 92 minutes
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)

Movie Reviews of No Retreat, No Surrender 2 [Region 2]

Movie Review: Retreats and Surrenders just a bit
Summary: 4 Stars

All things considered, the "No Retreat, No Surrender" movies are one of the best martial arts film series ever made: from the original vehicle-to-fame of Jean-Claude Van Damme to the three adventures that subsequently paid Loren Avedon's bills and the three spiritual sequels that came afterwards, the combined flicks are much more enjoyable, competent, and consistent than the likes of the Kickboxer, Bloodsport, and Bloodfist series. "Raging Thunder" is one its strongest installments: even though it's a technical disaster of poor acting, corny dialogue, and grainy production, it's also a veritable action opus and one of the strongest vehicles for the stars it introduces to the western world.

The story: Scott Wylde (Avedon, The King of the Kickboxers) is an American tae kwon do expert gone to Thailand to meet his girlfriend, the daughter of a general. When she is kidnapped by enemy forces, Scott is blamed and must escape the police. En route to saving his girl, he hooks up with his old comrade Mac Jarvis (Max Thayer, Ilsa - Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks) and Mac's spitfiring old flame (Rothrock, Above the Law). It will take nothing less than their combined talents to rescue the young woman from the clutches of an evil Russian general (Hues, I Come in Peace).

Let's get it out of the way: the fight scenes are amazing. Without counting the short ones, there are five stellar encounters involving all four of the main stars and not one of them disappoints. Loren Avedon gets the best ones as he beats up kidnappers, bounty hunters, monk-wannabes, and Matthias Hues, therein showing off his amazing kicking prowess, his ability to adapt to Hong Kong cinefighting (lots of flips and flying kicks in store for him, including a Yuen Biao-inspired windmill kick), and giving Matthias Hues undoubtedly one of the best fights of his career for the finale. Cynthia Rothrock, despite being the distinctive veteran of Hong Kong action, plays second fiddle to Avedon but nonetheless manages a couple of cool encounters, including a fight with Japanese superkicker Hwang Jang Lee (Drunken Master). Max Thayer looks to be in good shape, but his moves consist entirely of throwing out haymakers and blowing folks up.

However, once the action dies down, you're left with the embarrassing flaws of martial arts cinema which will either make you love the movie more or make it difficult to watch, depending on your disposition. With the exception of the single scene featuring Thai actor Nirut Sirichanya (Ong Bak 2: The Beginning), there are exceedingly few instances of decent acting to be seen, with the performances of Avedon, Rothrock, and Avedon's on-screen fiancé Patra Wanthivanond being particularly hard on the eyes and ears. Hues' performance is no better, thanks to an unintentionally-funny exchange with Rothrock and the fact that he sets the standard for making funny faces during his fight scenes. Nonstop cornball dialogue ("You just made the endangered species list!"), a bare-bones production appearance, and a disgusting scene of legitimate animal abuse continue to make the film questionable for non-enthusiasts. Additionally, there's a really convoluted plot facet about war, an invasion, and bombing raids between Thailand and Vietnam to comprehend, but hats off to anybody who bothers to figure that one out entirely. Viewers only interested in the fight scenes may find themselves fast-forwarding to them rather than sitting through the rest of the nonsense more than once.

In short, fans of Loren Avedon, Cynthia Rothrock, and Matthias Hues definitely ought to give this one a buy, and fans of the series (opposed to only of the first movie) should at least give it a watch as well. Mainstream Hollywood fans oughtn't set themselves up for a disappointment. As far as Corey Yuen films go, it'd be almost two decades before he made another American movie; what a shame that his usual craziness, as featured here, didn't catch on more...

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Summary of No Retreat, No Surrender 2 [Region 2]

[NON-U.S. FORMAT (PAL) Region 2 U.K. Import - This will not play on U.S./Canada DVD players or those from most other countries outside of Europe. You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] SYNOPSIS: American kickboxer heads to Cambodia to rescue his Vietnamese girlfriend from Soviet aggressors in the aptly named Death Mountain.

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